Scarred Hearts
by Heartsky
Summary: Bianca's convinced that the man next door, Kross, isn't worth her time. But when she's around him the more hidden aspects of her personality begin to show. A near death experience tops it off and she finally can't ignore the hurt inside of her. Could he help her heal? Could she do the same for him? Maybe they are not as different as they think...
1. Ghost

Bianca groaned when she heard a scream from outside. She approached one of the windows in her summer mansion. Glancing outside, she could see that what she thought was happening was, indeed, happening. This same thing had happened almost every day since Bianca had arrived here. The mail delivery girl always freaked out when she got to the house near Bianca's summer mansion. She thought the guy who lived next door was some sort of ghost or something. Which was absurd.

Bianca was getting sick of this. She made her way toward the front door. She had had enough. She had come to this village for a summer vacation, and she intended to have an enjoyable time, which was impossible with a girl freaking out every morning.

Bianca marched out of the door and over to the house next door. Standing next to the mailbox was the mail delivery girl. Her reddish-blonde hair in two braids, wearing a red coat and hat, with a mail-bag slung over her shoulder. She noticed Bianca coming.

"This house is haunted! I always hear a voice talking to me when I'm near this house, but no one is there!" The mail-girl said, shaking like a leaf in the wind. Bianca looked towards the house. Standing in the shadowy doorway, she saw a person-like shape standing there. For a few seconds, she was afraid too, but then, when she looked harder, she realized it was just some guy. He had really long dark brown hair hanging across his face. Bianca rolled her eyes.

"Are you blind?! That's not a ghost. It's just a guy!" Bianca yelled. The mail-girl gasped, the looked at the door. After a few seconds she realized Bianca was right.

"Hello, Ms. Mailman." He said quietly.

"H-h-hi," Annete stammered back.

The guy in the doorway smiled a small, sad smile. After a second it was gone.

"B-bye." Annete said, then hurried off towards Bianca's house. The guy watched her leave, then turned towards Bianca.

"Thank you. It makes me so sad when people are afraid of me. Can I offer you some tea?" Bianca laughed.

"You are crazy if you think I would come into your dirty little house." The guy flinched. "I live in a beautiful, lavish mansion. Why would I want to even go near your little dirt pit?! Your whole farm is pathetic! Wimpy little crops, dirty house, and no one in the village even knows who you are. I would never keep company with such a nobody." Bianca tossed her hair over her shoulder and flounced off.

As she left, the quiet man's face had never been further from a smile.


	2. Gift

Bianca awoke to the sound birds chirping happily. "Who opened that window?" she grumbled angrily. She marched over to the other side of the room and slammed the window shut. "Stupid birds. Don't they know it's too early for anyone to be awake?" The door to Bianca's room creaked and Tabatha poked her head in.

"Hello, Miss Bianca. A lovely morning, isn't it?"

"No, those idiot birds woke me up! I'm supposed to get my beauty sleep and they messed it up!" Tabatha sighed.

"Bianca, you really need to work on that attitude of yours. It's no wonder so few people want to talk to you! I heard the way you spoke to our neighbor yesterday. That was entirely uncalled for."

Just for a moment, Bianca felt a prick of guilt. Only for a moment though.

"Pah! Well, what I said was true. His house is pathetic. I was only being honest." Tabatha just shook her head. "Well, anyway, I'll get dressed now. Come back in a few minutes so you can do my hair."

"Alright, milady."

Within a few minutes Bianca was dressed in the same outfit she wore every day. Well, it wasn't actually the same, she had hundreds of copies of that dress. She would never actually wear the same thing more than once. Once an outfit had been worn then it was dirty and therefore not usable. She was sitting in front of a mirror, and Tabatha stood behind her, brush in hand. "How would you like your hair done?"

"Hmm...oh, just put it up in a bun." So Tabatha brushed Bianca's blue hair and pinned it up in a bun.

"Alright, Bianca. If you need anything else just call me. I'll go check the mailbox." Tabatha started to leave. Suddenly she stopped. "Oh, and happy birthday, Bianca."

Bianca had been admiring herself in the mirror, but when she heard those words she froze, startled. How had she forgotten today was her birthday? It had completely slipped her mind. Normally her father would make a big production of it, setting up decorations and making sure there was food everywhere. Then of course he gobbled it all up. He frustrated her sometimes, he knew nothing about keeping up a good image. You don't eat food all at once like that. It makes you look like a pig! No, instead, you have seven meals a day and spread your eating out. That way no one realized how much you actually ate. Bianca had to admit, she kind of missed her dad. Without him to make a big fuss over her birthday, it had almost gone ignored.

But Tabatha remembered. Bianca was grateful for that. "I wonder if we'll have some sort of party..."

Suddenly Tabatha's voice interrupted her train of thought. "Bianca, I think you should see this." Bianca got up and made her way to the front door. What on earth did Tabatha want her to see?

When she opened the door and stepped outside, Tabatha pointed to the towards the mailbox. Bianca's eyes followed the path of Tabatha's finger.

There, sitting next to the mailbox, was a small, woven basket filled with strawberries. There was a small scrap of paper tied to the handle of the basket, which fluttered in the light morning breeze.

A confused Bianca walked towards the basket, reached down, and grabbed the piece of paper. It had only two words written on it: _Happy Birthday. _

"What does it say?" A curious Tabatha said.

"Happy Birthday." Tabatha's eyes grew wide.

Bianca's mind raced. Who could have left this here? Her first guess was Raguna, the farmer next door who had been pestering her since they had met back in Kardia, the town she lived in. He seemed bound and determined to become _friends _with her. With everyone in the village, for that matter. How pathetic.

"Well, then." Tabatha spoke up. "I guess this means we have a mystery on our hands. A secret admirer, perhaps?" She giggled a bit.

"I wouldn't be surprised." Bianca said. "Although we really shouldn't assume things."

"Well, we can use these strawberries to make some cake. I need to go into town to buy some flour, though. Want to come with to investigate this little mystery?" Normally Bianca would have said no, but she was dying to know who had given her this gift, so she agreed.

They went to the Sunshine Inn, and when they got there they saw that Cinnamon, Candy, Melody and Danny were also there, sitting and talking at a table.

"I mean it! That Rosetta's plotting to steal all my customers! She must be doing _something_ underhanded! Maybe she's blackmailing them." Danny ranted. Melody shook her head.

"Or maybe she has way more stuff than you cause you have such a lousy inventory, and that's why people go to her store rather than yours."

"Hi guys!" Tabatha called. The group stopped arguing and turned their heads toward her.

"Oh, hey Tabatha. What's up?" Melody replied.

"Well, Miss Bianca and I came into town to buy some flour. It's her birthday today, so I'm going to bake her a cake."

"Oh! Happy Birthday, Bianca!" Melody said.

"Yeah, Happy Birthday!" Candy and Danny joined in.

"...and many more..." Cinnamon said with effort.

Bianca simply nodded. Tabatha smiled. "We have a little mystery, though. This morning we found a basket of strawberries near the mailbox. There was a note that said "Happy Birthday" on it, but it wasn't signed." Candy's eyes got wide, then exchanged a look with her older sister Cinnamon.

"That's funny. On sis's birthday, we found a basket of potatoes near the front door. The next day, it was my birthday, and we found a basket of cucumbers."

Suddenly they all heard footsteps, and Turner came lumbering down the stairs. "Sorry about that folks. My wife and I were discussing things and we lost track of time." Cinnamon smirked. She knew that most likely Turner and Rita had been discussing how much alcohol Turner should be allowed to consume each night. In her opinion he drank too much for his own good.

Turner made his way to the desk and stood behind it. "So, what can I do for you folks?" Melody waved her hand.

"Cinnamon, Candy, Danny and I are just talking." Tabatha stepped up to the counter. "I'm just here to buy flour. I know you usually only sell it at night, but..." Turner smiled.

"Oh, don't worry, I'll sell you some now and save you the trouble. That'll be 130G."

Tabatha paid him. Then Danny spoke up. "You know, I think something similar happened to me. I found a basket of vegetables on my doorstep on my birthday." Turner looked up.

"Really? Me too!"

Tabatha was puzzled. Who was giving everyone birthday gifts? Cinnamon broke in. "Well...it really could be anyone in Trampoli...the calenders have everyone's birthdays printed on them, so..."

Tabatha thought this information over. It was true. Everyone's birthdays were printed on the calendar. It could be anyone. Then, suddenly she realized that everyone who had received a gift had a birthday after Spring 1st. Was it just a coincidence? Or maybe not? "Did Rita get a gift like that?" She asked Turner. He frowned.

"Actually, no." Bianca was puzzled too. Rita's birthday was in winter. So the gifts had started after spring started.

"Did anyone move in at the beginning of Spring?" Tabatha asked.

"Well, Raguna did, and one other person...oh, what was his name again? Oh, that dark-haired fellow who Anette thought was a ghost. Ah, right! His name is Kross! He moved in just before Raguna did." Turner clapped his hands together as he remembered.

At that, Bianca started. Kross?! Could it really be him? The one whose house and way of life she had criticized? Why would he be giving everyone gifts? Why would he still give _her _a gift?

Her eyes met Tabatha's, and she knew Tabatha was thinking the same things. Tabatha looked at her angrily. Her soft blue eyes almost seemed to be ablaze. Without even speaking, Tabatha's eyes said, _"You should be ashamed of yourself!" _Bianca felt another prick of guilt, and this time it was harder to dismiss.

"It might not have been him! It might have been Raguna!" She blurted out, then marched out of the Inn. Everyone stared at her, confused.

"What was that about? That girl's an odd one." Danny commented.

"You got that right." Cinnamon added. Tabatha just sighed.


	3. Rain

**Hi! Here's the next chapter, yay! Thanks to those who have reviewed so far! Be warned that this next chapter will have spoilers about Kross's past, as will future chapters, for those of you who haven't seen the events in the game which include Kross. Read at your own risk! Sorry I don't update very often, I'm busy with school and stuff, so please be patient! **

**Me: I don't own Rune Factory.**

**Bianca: Of course you don't. You're not rich enough to buy the rights to a game series. Now, _my _family, on the other hand...**

**Me: *glares at Bianca***

**Bianca: Okay, okay. I'll quit talking now. Enjoy _my _story, everyone!**

Bianca sat in one of the very elaborate chairs in the large, lavish room at the front of her summer mansion. On the table in front of her sat a silver tray. A cold, half-eaten croissant and a lukewarm cup of tea were on the tray, forgotten. Bianca had hardly touched the food since Tabatha had put it there half an hour ago. Bianca's mind was elsewhere. She stared out at the window. The world outside was dark and wet, and it seemed to be tinted blue. She watched drops of rain hit the window, but she didn't really see them. She was lost in thought.

It had turned out Raguna hadn't even realized it was Bianca's birthday, let alone gotten her a birthday present. To be truthful, she wasn't surprised. Somehow, she had known it was Kross who had left the gift, although she still couldn't fathom why he had done it. She rarely even gave the people who were closest to her gifts. Why would Kross give one to someone whose first words to him were insults? It didn't make sense to her.

Her birthday had been a few days ago, but she still remembered the cake. Yes, she remembered the cake, of all things. She remembered the sweet, fruity taste of strawberries that had been in every bite. Yet somehow every bite managed to taste like guilt. Ugh. It was very troubling. THAT feeling had been bothering her since then, and it was very irritating. It seemed to suck the enjoyment from everything, like some sort of emotional vacuum. Another drop of rain slid down the window and Bianca watched it intently. Emotional vacuum?! She was talking complete nonsense to herself in her thoughts. This was too much. She had to make it stop.

Tabatha walked down the stairs and over to the table where Bianca was sitting, completely unaware of the mental battle her mistress was having. Tabatha frowned at the sight of the barely touched food on Bianca's plate. "Is something wrong with your food?" Tabatha asked.

Bianca was startled when her elven maid spoke. She turned away from the window quickly. Her elbow knocked the cup of tea over and it spilled all over the floor. "Oops," Bianca stared at the spilled tea.

"I'll get a mop." Tabatha exited the room, returning shortly with a mop and started mopping up the tea. "Anyways, I was wondering if something was wrong with your food. You've hardly touched it."

"No, the food is fine, I was just...thinking." Bianca replied. Tabatha looked at her out of the corner of her eyes as she mopped up the tea. She knew what was troubling Bianca. Tabatha almost wanted to laugh out loud in happiness. Perhaps Bianca wasn't hopeless.

Tabatha loved Bianca dearly. She had always thought of her as a younger sister, and it pained her to see her mistress alone all the time. She knew that deep down, Bianca was a nice person. Somehow most of Bianca's kindness had gotten buried underneath her blunt nature and the ego she had developed because of her father's constant doting and wealth, though. Tabatha had faith that Bianca's kindness could be brought out. Bianca just needed a bit of a push, a motivation that would bring it out.

Tabatha continued mopping the floor. Neither girl said a word. Then, slowly, deliberately, Tabatha turned towards the window and said, in an innocent tone, "Hm. I haven't seen Kross outside lately. I wonder what's wrong? He didn't seem like the type to neglect his fields like that. Very odd."

Bianca snapped to attention. _That is it! _The blue-haired girl thought. _I've had enough of this._

…..

The rain beat mercilessly on the wilted crops in the field. They had been ignored for the past few days, and they weren't doing well. The house nearby was filled with a tense silence. Dust had begun to settle on the counters and tables. Nothing moved. Nothing made a sound. At first glance, anyway. There _was_ the barely audible sound of breathing, which was being emitted from the man with long, dark hair, who was sitting in the corner of the room on the floor.

For the past few days he had gone through his chores automatically. He gradually did less and less of his chores, until today, when he had hardly even bothered to get out of bed.

Though he was sitting in his house, he didn't see the room in front of him. He saw the people he had once worked with, in that wretched country. He saw them sneering at everyone they saw, purposely striking fear in their hearts. He saw all sorts of machinery being built, machinery made to destroy. He saw people plotting to make war simply because they wanted to have a larger country, to rule more land. He saw people, innocent people, crying and helpless, forced to give up their freedom or die.

And he had been a part of it. He had helped cause all that pain.

It had weighed on him like a mound of bricks, dragging him lower and lower into depression. Kross had run away and started a new life in Norad Kingdom. He became a farmer in the small village of Trampoli, hoping to help heal the harm he had done, in some small way. He had thought that maybe by growing crops for the people, by providing them with food, his life would be worth something.

But then the image of HER flashed through his mind, the girl with the blue hair. She had said that he was a nobody, that his farm was pathetic. Those words, however harmless she may have thought them, had crushed his spirits. Maybe she was right. Maybe he wasn't doing anyone any good. It was hopeless.

Suddenly, someone banged loudly on the front door. "Come in." Kross said weakly.

The door burst open. And who was standing there but Bianca de Sainte-Coquille herself, with a pink raincoat over her dress, the hood pulled over her head. For a moment she looked around the room, confused. When she spotted Kross sitting on the floor she looked rather startled. "Uh..." She said.

Kross looked at her, bewildered. Had she come here to fling more insults at him? To crush the little hope that was left in his heart? He looked at her with fear in his eyes, like an animal who knows it is about to be turned into someone's dinner.

"Well, um ah..." Bianca stammered uncertainly, her eyes darting around nervously. She cleared her throat, then tried to speak again. "I...I came to say...I came to say that I'm sorry!" She burst out. She said the last two words with difficulty, as if she was not accustomed to speaking them.

Kross was surprised. What was this all about?

"I'm sorry, okay! I was wrong! Your crops are not wimpy and pathetic, and your house isn't really _that_ bad!"

"Why? Why would you say those things if you didn't mean them? You were only being...honest."

"No! The cake we made from those strawberries was amazing! I ate some of the leftover strawberries too. They were the best strawberries I have ever tasted! If all your crops are like that, the village is definitely lucky to have you as a farmer."

The two people stared at each other rather awkwardly for a moment. The slowly, a small smile crept across Kross's face.

She _hadn't _come to insult him! She had come to apologize! Suddenly, Kross didn't feel quite so depressed. "Thank you." he said quietly.

"Yeah...well...so, um, if you're done feeling depressed or whatever, I-I'll be leaving now!" She said, embarrassed. She spun around and left, closing the door behind her.

"What a strange girl."


	4. Opinions

**Sorry this chapter's so short, but to make up for it I'll try to have another chapter up sometime this week. Thanks to Zexen Knight, I checked and your right about Tabatha referring to Bianca as "Miss Bianca". Anyways, that's all I have for now, except once again, there are spoilers, and I don't own Rune Factory!**

"But Miss Bianca, why would you want to leave early? We were going to stay all summer! What about the Boat Race? We'll miss it if we leave now. Why do you want to go?"

"Because I don't want to stay in this stupid little hick-town any longer! It's so boring!" Bianca replied haughtily. Of course, that wasn't the _real_ reason she wanted to leave so suddenly. But the real reason was...hard to explain. After Bianca's encounter with Kross, Bianca had decided she needed to leave. This place was affecting her in the strangest ways. Making her feel guilty, apologizing for things she had said...she didn't like it. She didn't want to feel bad for acting the way she always acted. She had learned to control her conscience long ago, after finding she always got what she wanted if she just ignored it. Why had coming here brought it back out again?

Bianca stared at Tabatha defiantly. "Fine." Tabatha breathed. "I'll go pack. I just don't understand..." Tabatha disappeared down the hallway.

After a little time had passed, Tabatha brought a few bags out into the entrance area where Bianca was. "Well, that takes care of your clothes." She stared at Bianca for a moment. "Miss Bianca, are you _sure _want to leave? Won't you miss Mister Raguna? Or Kross?"

"Why would I miss _them_?"

Suddenly, the front door of the mansion opened, and who should walk in but Raguna himself! He noticed the packed bags Tabatha had set down. "Are you guys leaving already?" He asked confusedly. But before either of them could answer, a monster that looked like an elephant walked in behind Raguna and ran across the room toward Bianca.

"Ack!" She screamed. What WAS that thing?! Bianca looked at it curiously. It was obviously some sort of monster. It wasn't big though, and it didn't really look scary, either. It wasn't at all like Bianca had imagined monsters.

"I'm so sorry, Bianca! I-I saw that thing in one of the caves a while ago and it's been following me ever since. I didn't mean for it to come here with me!" Raguna stuttered.

"...won't you...give it to me?" Bianca said, in a demanding voice. That thing was actually kind of...cute, and Bianca wanted it.

Raguna was quiet, and seemed to be thinking. "Well, sure, as long as you take good care of it." Raguna eventually replied.

"Alright then. I think I'll name it...Francoise!" Bianca turned to look at the monster. "Francoise, starting today, I am your new master!"

"Miss, you _do_ realize we can't possibly take the monster...er, Francoise, back to Kardia, right? There are no monsters allowed in the village, remember?" Tabatha noted.

"Oh, yes, that is an issue...I guess we'll just have to stay for now then." Bianca said a bit reluctantly.

"So you're not leaving? Good! You guys are nice to have around." Raguna responded cheerfully. "Oops. I gotta go. I was gonna give some strawberries to Anette, and she's only in town in the mornings." Raguna's face suddenly reddened, he hadn't meant to mention the reason for his departure. "Uh, bye guys." He walked out the door, still blushing madly.

Bianca grinned smugly. "What a foolish idiot. Love's a waste of time. Doesn't get you anywhere."

Tabatha didn't agree. "Oh, I don't know, it's kind of cute, the way he reacted. And I think love may be more than a waste of time."

"You can think what you want, be I'll never agree with you on that topic."

"Oh, I wouldn't be so sure about that, Miss. You never know. You just might change your mind someday."


	5. Narrow Minded

**Okay, here's the next chapter!**

Bianca sighed heavily as she started walking up the mountain path with Tabatha. Today was the Ganesha Cup Boat Race, and Tabatha had begged Bianca to come with her to watch the race. "It can't be good for you to stay inside all day," Tabatha had argued. Eventually, Bianca had relented.

The two trudged up the mountain path, trying not to get their shoes too dusty. There was a slight chill in the air, which was strange for a summer's day, but then again autumn wasn't far off. Bianca wished she had brought a shawl with longer sleeves.

She absentmindedly looked at the cave blocked off by rocks. What could be in there? Probably monsters, monsters that were _nothing_ like Francoise. It was probably awful. Why was Raguna so interested in places like that, anyway?

Tabatha and Bianca reached Lake Poli. There were a few people milling around, and a buzz of excitement was in the air. Bianca and Tabatha chose a grassy spot to watch from. As they waited for the race to begin, more people started coming. Bianca saw Erik, Danny, and Anette sign up to be in the race.

After a while, Bianca saw Kross walk into the area. He looked so...sad. Strange how she hadn't noticed that before. Somehow he always seemed kind of sad, like a rain cloud was hanging over his head, following him wherever he went. _I...I guess I'm glad I apologized to him,_she thought to herself.

Kross looked around uncertainly, as if he wasn't sure where he should watch from. _He doesn't know many people in this town, _Bianca realized. _He's not sure who he should watch the race with._

Suddenly, Kross noticed Bianca and Tabatha. He started walking toward them. Bianca felt her heart begin to beat faster. _What's wrong with me?! _Bianca thought angrily. Bianca de Sainte-Coquille did not get nervous about talking to people! Bianca wished she could hit her stupid heart with a frying pan. That would make it stop acting so ridiculous!

Before Bianca knew it, Kross was standing next her and Tabatha. He gave them a slight nod in greeting. "Hello, Kross," Tabatha said politely. All three of them looked over towards the docks.

Raguna was trying to sign up to be in the race. Turner had lumbered in, insisting that Raguna needed a partner for the race. "I'm not letting you get on that boat alone!" He shouted drunkenly.

"No, Turner, I'll be fine, really!" Raguna said, trying to be as polite as he could.

"Really, I insist!" Turner half-yelled back.

Bianca shook her head. "Idiot. Doesn't he realize he's so fat he'd sink the boat?"

"Miss Bianca!" Tabatha said, clearly shocked at Bianca's rudeness. Kross, however, was struggling to stifle a small smile.

"I'm just telling it like it is." Bianca responded.

Kross looked at Bianca. "Well, maybe it's true, but you should be careful about saying things like that about people. You don't know if you'll hurt their feelings. Then again, sometimes people need to hear the truth, even if it might hurt..." he trailed off.

Bianca was confused. What was he trying to say?! "Should I tell people what I think or not?"

Kross sighed. "It's...it's complicated. You have to think before you talk. You have to decide if what you're going to say is something the person really needs to hear or whether it would just hurt them. A person's heart is a fragile thing. You need to handle it with care." He stared off in the distance, a far-off look on his face.

Bianca tried to mull over his advice but was still confused. A few minutes passed in a somewhat awkward silence between the three. Finally, in an attempt to get rid of some of the awkwardness, Kross spoke again.

"So...do you like Trampoli?" he asked Bianca.

She wrinkled her nose. "Not really. It's so dull here."

"Dull? But there's plenty of things to do. There's fishing..."

"Fish are disgusting."

"Or gardening..."

"My dress would get ruined by all that dirt! Besides, it would be so much work!"

"Or cooking..."

"Too messy, too much work."

"Or stargazing..."

"It's too cold out at night. Besides, what's so great about stars?"

Kross stared at Bianca, perplexed. "Have you ever even tried any of those things?"

"Well, no. But I'm sure I wouldn't like them."

"Have you ever thought of entering the boat race? Or just going boating? I go boating sometimes just because I enjoy it."

"No way! My arms would get so _sore_ from rowing."

"You're sort of narrow-minded, Miss Bianca."

Bianca stiffened at that. Narrow-minded! He had just said she was narrow-minded! How could he say such a thing to her?! How dare he insult a de Sainte-Coquille!

Neither of them said a word during the rest of the race. Bianca noticed Kross look at her out of the corner of his eyes, as if he was trying to see how she had reacted. She avoided his eyes and made her face as expressionless as she could. She refused to let him know how she felt, not after what he had said about her.


	6. Before Your Eyes

**Thanks to everyone for all your support! I've had this chapter in my head for a long time. It didn't turn out quite like I thought it was, but I'm happy with it. The flashbacks were really hard to write. Anyways, I just hope all of you like it too!**

Bianca de-Sainte Coquille marched out of her summer manor, fuming. She hadn't been able to take her mind off of what that _farmer _had said about her. He had called her narrow-minded! Of all the insulting, untrue things to say! She would prove him wrong. She wouldn't take this lying down.

The blue-haired girl marched up the mountain path, for once not paying attention to the branches on the path which were scuffing her shoes. She reached the place where yesterday, people had gathered to see the boat race. Now there wasn't a single person near the lake. It wasn't as cold as it had been yesterday, but somehow Bianca felt kind of chilled.

The lake felt kind of ominous today, the place was so empty and quiet. The whole sky was overcast, foreboding a possible storm later that day.

For a moment, Bianca considered going back home. She had a strange feeling about this. She ignored the feeling, though, dismissing it from her mind. What could go wrong?

Bianca made her way down to the dock that the canoe-like boat was tied to.

Bianca was going to go boating. She was sure it would be dreadfully tiresome, but at least she could say she had tried it. Then Kross would have to eat his words. Oh, yes, he'd swallow them whole.

She stepped into the boat, and it swayed wildly from side to side. Bianca panicked but still had enough sense about her to sit down. The boat slowly stopped rocking. Already, she didn't like boating.

But she was determined to go through with this, so she grabbed the oar which was sitting in the boat. She mentally recalled as much of what she had seen yesterday as she could. Hadn't she seen the competitors standing on the front of the boat? There was no way Bianca was going to do that. She was nowhere near balanced enough for it. Oh well, she'd do the best she could sitting down.

She began rowing, alternating sides. She moved very slowly and was frustrated, but after some time she found herself halfway between the dock she had started from and one of the islands in the lake. She stopped rowing, her arms sore. This was absolutely exhausting! She sat there for a few minutes, deciding that her attempt so far had been good enough. She would turn around after she had rested a little longer.

Bianca felt nervous. There had been hardly a sound since she had come out here. The silence seemed stifling when combined with the dark clouds above.

Suddenly, she heard a rustling noise. Her head snapped toward the noise. It had come from some bushes on the nearby island. She heard more rustling and fear crept inside her. She stood up, trying to see what was making the noise.

A snake slithered its way out of the bushes. It slithered closer and closer to the water. When it reached the shore, it swam right into the water. Bianca's mind froze in fear. Since when could snakes swim?! She started to step backwards, wanting to get away from it. This was, of course, a terrible thing to do.

The boat shifted and began to turn over. Bianca fell into the water, screaming the loudest she had ever screamed in her life.

_Why, oh why did I decide to go boating? I can't swim! Why didn't I choose something else? _The answer was probably that she hadn't thought anything like this could ever happen to her. Having a sheltered, pampered life had led her to subconsciously believe she was invulnerable.

Bianca plunged into the water, which was icy cold. Bianca had never felt such a chill. It seeped into her very bones. She frantically waved her arms, trying to get to the surface. She struggled for a few minutes, but she only kept sinking, sinking, further and further into the lake.

Bianca had never understood what it meant for your life to "flash before your eyes." She assumed it was poetic nonsense writers used to make their stories interesting. Only now did she understand, when panic set in.

_A younger Bianca was playing dolls with some other girls in her village. She noticed that the one of the other girls had a doll that was really pretty. She grabbed the doll from the little girl. "This is mine now." The little girl burst into tears._

"_If I ever get married, I want to marry someone incredibly rich and handsome!" Bianca declared to the other teen girls in Kardia . "Isn't it more important to marry someone you love?" One of the girls countered. "Love? Love doesn't exist! It's nothing more than a fairy tale! If it existed, then why do people leave the people they say they "love" when someone else who's richer or more good looking comes along? Why do all the girls in fairy tales marry handsome princes?"_

_Bianca walked up to the other girls in the village, who were talking to each other. One of them turned and said, "Bianca, we don't want to hang out with you anymore." "WHY NOT?!" She screamed. The girl was angry. "Because you are rude and mean to us!" "Fine. See if I care." Bianca pounded her feet as she left._

_Bianca walked into the new resident's house. Her father apologized to the new farmer for their uninvited visit and explained that Bianca wanted to meet him. Bianca looked around, seeing how small the house was and how plain the furniture was. "Daddy, let's leave. This place stinks." She said, deciding that Raguna was not interesting._

Pieces of Bianca's life flashed through her mind. Then her words from earlier that month flashed through her head. _"I live in a beautiful, lavish mansion. Why would I want to even go near your little dirt pit?! Your whole farm is pathetic! Wimpy little crops, dirty house, and no one in the village even knows who you are. I would never keep company with such a nobody."_

Bianca flinched at these memories. Was this really how she normally acted? Was it really worth it? She had almost everything she had ever wanted...but still, something didn't feel right. She wished she could figure out what it was that she was doing wrong.

_Oh well, that doesn't matter now. _She thought to herself. _I'm about to die anyway._


End file.
